Sermon Tone Analysis

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*Luke 1:26-56*
*/A Faith Despite Circumstances/*
 
v    Have you ever made a decision that could have cost you everything?
In 1516 M. Luther was reading Romans and he got to verses 16-17.
He was struck by those words reiterated by Paul from the book of Habakkuk, “The righteous will live by faith” Those words catapulted Luther into what we call the Reformation.
He began by tacking up the famous 95 theses pointing out the errors that existed in the Church at that time, but it quickly snowballed into an all-out reformation
In 1521, just 5 years after it started, Luther was ordered to go before a church council to explain his preaching and writings that were contrary to the church’s teachings.
The site of the council was in the German city of Worms.
Here Luther defended his writings before the Emperor Charles and all the dignitaries of the Empire.
Towards the end of the council, the Emperor and dignitaries had had enough and demanded that Luther recant all that he had preached and written.
And it was then that he made his timeless reply:
/I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the Councils, because it is clear as day they have frequently erred and contradicted each other.
Unless therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture . . .
I can and will not retract . . .
Here I stand . . .
I can do no other.
So help me God, Amen!!/
This is a great statement of faith in God.
One that looked right into the face of the circumstances and despite them chose God.
There was no reason other than his faith in God that Luther should have made this statement.
His circumstances were faithless.
He was facing excommunication, defrocking and death by uttering those words.
After the council, Luther was declared an outlaw which meant that he could be killed by anyone without threat of punishment.
Yet Luther trusted God and His Word more than the threats of man.
He made a decision that cost him everything!
In our text today, we have before us a situation similar to the one Luther faced.
An announcement that tests Mary faith in the face of some dire circumstances.
An announcement that comes from the messenger angel Gabriel again…
*READ 1:26-29*
 
*A Faithless Circumstance*
Ø     Here we see Gabriel again
§        He has been busy
·        6 months previous he was in the temple with Zechariah
¨     Before that, we meet him one other time is Scripture, 500 years earlier
Ø     But it is interesting what context we see him in
§        turn to *Daniel 9:20-27 (pg.
1389)*
·        Daniel doing his devotions in Jeremiah
·        Gets to chapter 25 or 29
·        Yahweh comforts him by showing him that the exile is coming to an end
¨     That God is going to restore His people
·        Yahweh then goes further and through the 70 week prophecy shows Daniel that a greater restoration is coming
¨     A spiritual one involving His son, the Anointed One
Ø     He will come to put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, bring everlasting righteousness
v    Gabriel is the Messianic herald
Ø     So it makes sense that Gabriel is sent once again at the coming of the Anointed One
v    Gabriel is sent to a young teenager (12-14) named Mary in the small city of Nazareth
Ø     Nazareth is described by Kent Hughes in his commentary as…
§        /A shoddy, corrupt, halfway stop between the port cities of Tyre and Sidon; overrun with Romans and Gentiles/
·        Nazareth was a nothing of a town on the backside of Israel
¨     And this is where Gabriel is sent to declare the birth of God’s own son
Ø     Nathaniel in *John 1:46*
§        Can anything good come from Nazareth?
v    But Gabriel none-the-less is sent to little Nazareth
 
Ø     And he greets Mary in V. 28
§        This is where the “*Hail Mary*” comes from
·        I believe this text has misinterpreted by some
¨     They prescribe glory and honor to Mary
Ø     When in fact it is pointing to the honor that she has been given of carrying the savior of the world in her womb
 
§        Mary has two reactions to what Gabriel said
·        1) She is greatly troubled
¨     She was disturbed as any teen would be having this experience
Ø     But she does something else too…
·        2) She wonders
¨      The literal sense of the Greek word is that she kept pondering the meaning of what Gabriel said
Ø      She mulled it over
§         Continued to think about what Gabriel said
Ø     Used in *Lk 3:15* about people pondering whether John was the Christ
v    Mary thought what this message is going to require */from/* her
v    And what this message is going to mean */for/* her
 
v    What Gabriel states next is what is required */from/* her…
 
*READ 1:30-38*
 
v    Gabriel goes on to tell Mary that she will become pregnant with a very special child
Ø     First, Gabriel announces that He will be the son of the Most High (*v.
31*)
§         Uses the same language as *Isa 7:14*
·        /The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel/
¨     God’s very own son
Ø     Secondly, he tells her that His name is special ~~ Jesus
§        Means “Salvation” or “The Lord Saves”
Ø     And lastly, he tells Mary that He will inherit David’s throne and have an eternal kingdom
§        A very clear reference to *2 Sam 7:8-16*
·        A watershed in Messianic prophecy
¨     /The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
//// //I will be his father, and he will be my son./
 
v    Mary got the picture
Ø     She understood what was being required */from/* her
§        She was going to become pregnant with the long awaited once and future Davidic king of 2 Samuel
§        The long awaited savior, the Messiah of Isa 7
·        She is not so surprised that the messiah is coming…
¨     But that she will be His mother
Ø     You can imagine what was going through her mind
§        Where to start, what question to ask…
 
*READ v. 34-38*
 
*A Faithful Question*
v    And she started with a very simple, logical question
Ø     “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
§        Perhaps she knew the Isa 7 text that tells of the virgin birth
·        But haven’t you ever known something for a fact, but still wanted to know how it was accomplished
¨     *Illustration: Magic trick *
Ø     Tear up 50 dollar bills then unfold it back to original
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